Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính (left) had talks with Swiss President Viola Amherd in Davos. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

DAVOS — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính met with Swiss President Viola Amherd and Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Rebeca Grynspan in Davos, Switzerland, on January 17 (local time) on the sidelines of the 54th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF-54).

At the meeting with Swiss President Viola Amherd, PM Chính thanked the Swiss Government for the warm welcome for him and congratulated Switzerland on the successful organisation of WEF-54, which was attended by nearly 3,000 leaders of governments and businesses globally.

Both sides expressed their delight at the strong developments in the friendship and cooperation between the two countries, especially in the fields of economy, trade, development assistance, culture, and education. They affirmed that regular contacts and exchanges between leaders and delegations of the two countries have contributed to strengthening their political trust.

The host said she appreciates Việt Nam's outstanding socio-economic development achievements in recent years, affirming that Việt Nam is Switzerland's leading important economic partner in Southeast Asia. She pledged to continue providing development aid to Việt Nam, with more than 40 projects being implemented in various fields.

For his part, the Vietnamese PM affirmed that the achievements of the two countries’ cooperation over the past 50 years prove their effective cooperation, laying a foundation for the two sides to elevate their relationship in the coming time.

Chính proposed that the two sides coordinate closely to prepare well for high-level visits between the two countries’ leaders, thereby reviewing and evaluating the cooperation results and proposing measures to advance collaboration.

He thanked the Swiss Government for providing Việt Nam with official development assistance (ODA) which helped Việt Nam gain many socio-economic achievements.

He said he hopes more Swiss businesses will come to Việt Nam, and the two countries will enhance cooperation in science-technology, and innovation as well as security and defence.

The two leaders also agreed to have a flexible approach in negotiating the free trade agreement between Việt Nam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the bilateral Investment Protection Agreement to create favourable conditions and ensure the interests of businesses and investors of the two countries.

The two leaders affirmed that they will continue to coordinate closely at regional and international forums. Regarding the East Sea issue, they agreed on the importance of ensuring freedom of navigation and aviation in compliance with international law, and resolving disputes by peaceful means on the basis of international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982), minimising the impact of geopolitical factors on supply chains and the movement of goods regionally and globally.

Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and Secretary-General of UNCTAD Rebeca Grynspan. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

Meeting with the Vietnamese Prime Minister, Secretary-General of UNCTAD Rebeca Grynspan stressed that UNCTAD always considers Việt Nam a model of development, trust, and optimism in the context of the current volatile world situation. Personally, as the former Vice President of Costa Rica, she always sees Vietnam as a model of development and wishes to visit Việt Nam.

She shared that on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of UNCTAD this year, it will organise a global conference and hopes that Việt Nam will send leaders to attend.

At the same time, she expressed her wish that Việt Nam will participate and actively contribute to the UNCTAD Ministerial Conference in 2025.

PM Chính affirmed that Việt Nam highly values the organisation's role in supporting developing countries, including Việt Nam, in the building of development policies, contributing to maintaining a prosperous life for people.

He hoped that UNCTAD will continue to support Việt Nam in all aspects of development, particularly human resources training. — VNS